Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Jose Fernando Lopez-Anchundia v. United States
IFP petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, No. 24-11838 · judgment September 3, 2025
Questions presented
Article I, Section 8, Clause 10 of the United States Constitution empowers Congress “[t]o define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations.” The Questions Presented are:
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Does Congress’s power “[t]o define and punish . . . Felonies committed on the high Seas,” authorize the United States to impose its laws upon foreign nationals for wholly foreign crimes committed in a foreign nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)?
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Is the United States’ prosecution of foreign nationals under the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (“MDLEA”) unconstitutional where neither the individual nor his offense bears any nexus to the United States?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Kenneth Swartz
Swartz Law Firm
For respondent
D. John Sauer
Solicitor General
Proceedings
- Jan 12 2026Petition DENIED.
- Dec 17 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/9/2026.
- Dec 11 2025Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
- Dec 01 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due January 7, 2026)